A Dark Matter
by NWCobalt
Summary: Simply the follow up to "You're Not Alone" that I promised. This will give interesting background on Black Velvet as well as introducing a new villian. You'll also get some background on another classic LU villian. So read, enjoy, and review if ya like
1. Chapter 1: Doubt, The Darkest Feeling

It has been about three weeks since I joined the Loonatics. I still love my new threads I got. I can't get over just how awesome these uniforms are. I very much resemble a ninja in this mostly black garb. There's the silver upside-down triangle on the chest that's pretty much the Loonatics emblem. It is silver on my uniform. Also tinted silver are my tail and lower muzzle and cheeks along with the inside of my ears. There's also the silver on the soles of the combat boots that come standard with this baby. My younger bro Tech really outdid himself when he designed these uniforms. Right not ole Tech-E is beside me on his green, floating disc he uses for meditation. I'm on one as well, a silver one of course. I'm glad I took up this meditation stuff from him. Most of the credit has to go to Ace since he's the one that showed Tech how to do it. It's supposed to help clear one's mind. It doesn't really help me too much in that department though. It does help relax me and all but…there's just so much on my mind these days. I don't think anything could help completely clear my mind. For now, I'm just at peace. The breakfast Slam made was exceptional. I don't think I've ever had waffles that good in a long time. It's much easier to bring about a state of total relaxation when one is digesting such a satisfying meal. Too bad that the moment couldn't last and a particularly annoying ring tone snapped me back to reality…and all its stresses.

"Augh…Duck!" Tech whined. "Why do you still have that annoying ringtone?"

"What…what…I can't get rid of this ringtone. It's so…so…me," Duck said not bothering to look Tech in the eye to answer his complaint.

"I'll say it is," Lexi interjected. "It's loud and obnoxious to the point of making one's hair stand on end."

"Oh ha…ha…ha," Duck added sarcastically. "Besides, seeing those two look like they've stuck their ears in an electrical outlet makes it worth it."

Tech responded to that with a low growl as he got down from his hover disc.

"Oh lighten up," Duck commanded. "I thought you were at a level in that meditation thingy that allowed you to block out my ringtone."

"It's not so much for me I'm concerned about Duck," Tech answered very annoyed at this point. "It's my brother Cobalt over here. Meditation may be a tool he can use to help better fight his cancer. I don't need him to be…"

"Tech," I interrupt. "It's ok bro. My little trip to inner peace was nice while it lasted. Still…one has to come back to the real world at some time. Besides, my path was a little cluttered with a mess of thoughts."

"Cobalt…how many times must I tell you to try and clear your mind completely when meditating?" Ace scolded. "You scientific types are the toughest to train in the art of meditation. It took me the better part of a year to get Tech here to understand the simple concept of just not thinking. He still let's his thoughts cloud his path at times. Well…at least I can say I tried."

"You really get passionate about this stuff don't ya," I ask as I begin to get down off my hover disc.

"Well it is something that helps him unwind a lot and since it benefits him so he would like all of us to reap those benefits even if our stubbornness to hold onto a thought processes may get in our way and…"

"Now here's a good example of someone who needs to slow down and meditate some," Rip said with a wry smile as he grasped his older brother's beak.

Rev responded by lightly poking his brother Rip in the ribs, tickling him in the process.

"Hey!" Rip exclaimed through snorts and giggles. "No fair…cut it out…stop already!"

"Hmphhmphhmphmmhomhohmmhohmh," Rev mumbled through his clinched beak.

"Groan grunt mutter beak," Slam added.

"I think you're right Slam," Duck said as he began translate what Slam just said. "He'll probably stop if you let go of his beak."

"Fine…Ok," Rip manages to spit out as he let's go of Rev's beak and falls to the ground while getting all the giggles out of his system.

"Thank you," Rev says with a chipper tone as he raises his tone slightly on the you.

"Whatever," Rip says as Duck helps him to his feet.

"I know I should try to put my thoughts aside while meditating Ace but…it's hard to do at this time…especially since it's been two years to the day that I last saw Vivian…after her ship was destroyed. I wander what she's up to at this point?"

"Vivian…who the heck is…oh right…you mean Black Velvet," Duck responded with a little chill in his attitude as he spoke.

"No duck…I mean Vivian!" I exclaim as I felt I was about to loose my temper right then and there. I managed to gather myself though and prevent myself from becoming violent with him. "You know Duck…I've always been a big fan of Chinese food for as long as I can remember. My favorite dish of all time is by far duck in orange sauce. It's been awhile since I had that and who knows when the craving will be just so great that I have no choice but to act on it," I remark with what I'm sure was a particularly evil grin on my face.

I think I made my point real well judging by the face Duck made. Just as he got a kick out of seeing me and Tech's hair stand on end, I got a kick out of seeing his pupils dilate and some of the color drain from his bill. He started to shake and stutter a little bit but then answered back with more courage than I thought he could muster.

"Yeah…like you could really harm me," he said. These guys wouldn't let you lay a finger on me. After all, we can't have teammates maiming each other no can we."

"I hate to admit it," Ace answered. "Duck is right. I can't have you make such threats to your fellow team members Cobalt…even if I know you would never act on them. Still I can understand why you would want to act on that threat. The temptation to let you pummel Duck can be undeniable at times."

"You could always make it look like an accident bro," Tech added with an evil grin of his own. "Make it seem like he perished during a mission. Who knows? The insurance pay out could be huge. Even if it is for someone like Duck," he laughs long and hard at that. I have to say it's nice to see my usually serious younger brother laugh.

"Oh ha…ha…ha…stop….oh stop," Duck responds with sarcastic laughter and pretends to double over in pain. "Please stop…you're making me laugh so hard I think I'll explode. You guys are despicable…just despicable."

The groups collective laughter at Duck's over-the-top theatrics was put on hold as Ace's wrist computer sprang to life with the news that their morning social hour was over. It was time to get to Acmetropolis. They had some work to do.

"Oh man," Ace said as he turned to address his teammates. "It's funny you should mention Vivian a.k.a. Black Velvet Cobalt. This situation may very well involve her."

"Why…what's happened?! Is she ok?!" I ask Ace while becoming more than a little apprehensive.

"There's really no mention of her Cobalt. This involves her colleague and former Acme Tech instructor Dr. Joel Raines. It seems he's gone missing," Ace added as he placed his wrist computer back in stand-by mode.

"A missing person's case!" Duck exclaimed. "Isn't that beneath our duties as defenders of the universe?"

"Normally I would agree with that Duck," Ace added. "However his disappearance may be a part of a bigger plot. Preliminary word is that he might be used to try and reacquire the light wave eliminator."

"Oh so ole velvety one is behind this," Duck declared.

Before he continued, I interrupted him with my own thoughts. Truthfully I did it more to stop Duck from saying anything else in order to keep my own anger from mounting. "We don't know that for sure Duck. You can't jump to the conclusion that…"

"Oh will you stop defending her already," Duck interjected with a hint of hostility in his voice I didn't think he possessed. "If you would have come forward with her back when we destroyed her ship, we could have had her safely locked away from the rest of society. But nooooo. You just had to save her. You had to take her to that Dr. Raines guy and get her all fixed up. Now she's on the loose and look how she's repaid the good doctor, by kidnapping him and reacquiring the light wave eliminator to plunge the city into eternal darkness."

The whole time Duck was on his tirade, he was jabbing his finger in the center of the inverted silver triangle on the chest of my uniform. After my next action, he probably wishes he never got that close to me. I took the opportunity to rear back and punch him hard in his condescending mouth. I was hoping that alone would alleviate the rage I had. It did not though and I ended up lunging at him ready to choke him. Heck…I might have even reverted back to my primal urges and bite him in the neck if it wasn't for the Ace, Tech, Rev, and Rip who immediately pulled me away from Duck. It took all four of them to restrain me as I was so focused with my anger that not much else in my brain was going on. I did finally start to calm down once I was forced down onto the couch.

"Cobalt! Calm down now!" Ace demanded. "If you can't control that temper of yours, then I'm gonna have to ask ya to sit this mission out."

"Wha…no! You can't do that!" I protest. "I need to be on this one. I have to try and save my old friend Dr. Raines. If Vivian is involved, I need to help bring her in so I can make amends for not turning her into authorities sooner. Still I'm certain she can't be involved with this. The guy gave her back her precious site. Why in the world would she ever want to harm him? Please Ace…I beg of you. I've wanted an opportunity to finally do some field work. You promised you would let me at some point. Well let this be the point. I need to be involved in this. Please Ace…I apologize for my little outburst just then…"

"Little!" Duck exclaimed. "You call that a little outburst. I'd sure hate to see what you consider a big outburst. You tried to kill me you psycho!"

I felt the rage building up again but I managed to push it back. After all, he had every right to make that statement. Who knows…I might have killed him if it weren't for the others. "You're right Duck. It wasn't a little outburst. I let my temper get the best of me and in the process I assaulted you, a fellow teammate. I'm sorry and I know it's no justification but…you really need to avoid jumping to conclusions before all the facts are known."

"Fine…apology accepted but I still think you need to stay here and cool your jets bub," Duck comments.

"I want him to go," Tech added. "We did promise him some time in the field before his condition grows bad enough to prevent that. Besides I can help keep his temper in control."

"Well…" Ace thought. "I do kinda want everyone for this assignment. If this kidnapping does lead to the theft of the light wave eliminator, then Acmetropolis is gonna need all the help it can get. Rip…Do a systems check on our security protocols. I need to make sure that this base is well secure with all of us gone."

"No problem Ace. I may go on and add extra layers of encryption just to insure the system is not hacked."

"Thanks Rip…Tech…you, Cobalt, and Rev will follow behind the rest of us with Rip once he's done. Lexi, Duck, Slam…you're with me. Ok Loonatics…let's jet.

* * *

As it turned out, we didn't leave too long after Ace and the others left. Rip took no time at all to double…even triple check the security protocols. His skills in digital security is quite impressive. I guess the fact that since he doesn't talk the same speed as his parents and brother, all that speed went to his thought processes and typing skills. Dudes gotta have WPM (work per minute) rating of at least 120. I'm lucky to output 40 WPM. Well I wish I could say that I enjoyed arriving back at Acmetropolis. The fact that Vivian may well be involved in the abduction of my friend and her colleague is unsettling. I still stick to my guns when it comes to her innocence. Unfortunately doubt still has a way of creeping in and clouding the issue. There's no darker cloud that can overshadow the mind quite like doubt can. It is the ultimate darkness. That doubt was added to once we arrived at Vision Specialists of Acmetropolis building or VSA for short. Ace was already radioing in to us urgently for assistance inside. They had shadowmen to contend with.

"Oh no," Tech said looking up from the video screen on his wrist computer. "Those are the shadowmen that Black Velvet used. I'm sorry Cobalt but…"

"But nothing Tech," I snapped. "It may look like the same shadowmen you spoke of but it doesn't mean they're working for Bla…Vivian."

"Well Cobalt it's kind of hard to take that point of view since the only time we've ever seen these guys was when we were battling Black Velvet but then again they are nothing more than advanced holograms but made up of some kind of dark matter instead of light so…"

"Thanks for the input Rev," I said as I unclenched his beak. "The point you made about dark matter holograms. I'm starting to wander if that light wave eliminator may be the source of those shadowmen. It may have even been the source of Vivian's advanced cloak of darkness.

"Could be," Rip added. "There's only one way to find out. Let's get in their. Rev, I suspect they will need your GPS capabili…Rev? Hey…where'd he go?!"

Look at the screen Rip," I said in unison with Tech.

All that could be seen was Slam…in the form of a cyclone… pushing his way threw a slew of shadowmen at Rev's direction. I was starting to wander why in the world they were not using their night vision capabilities. My question was soon answered when the lights inside the building…which were deactivated…were not shining with all their might. The bright light instantly ridding the Loonatics of the annoying pest problem that was the shadowmen.

"How in the world did that happen?" I question. "I thought for sure they would have thought ahead enough to shut down the main power to the building."

"They did," Rip answered. "Unfortunately they only disabled the power via the building's central control computer that's constantly running off its own supplied power. A central control computer like that is usually the toughest systems to hack for most, and I emphasize, most hacker can break into."

"But not you obviously," I added half-giggling.

"You bet. Now let's get in there and make sure everyone is ok."

"Agreed," Tech added as he used his electromagnetic powers to lift up a length of chain-link fencing in front of them.

"You know, we would simply climb over that like my brother did," Rip said. "No need to…"

Rip was interrupted by my brother's painful cries. He had ruptured a near by high pressure steam line with part of the fence. The steam badly burned his face. I freaked out big time till he began to regenerate his eyes and the skin and fur on his muzzle. I keep forgetting that he can do that.

"Well…that's what you get for showing off bro," I told him, still a little agitated from witnessing his accident.

"Sorry you had to see that bro. I was hoping to get a chance to illustrate my electromagnetic powers here in the field. Didn't really want to demonstrate my molecular regeneration to you as well. Not only was the burns themselves painful, but the regeneration process itself can be excruciating."

"Let's just meet with the others," I said as I head for the door.

Once inside, we all converged onto Dr. Raines office. Despite the presence of the shadowmen in the lobby, Dr. Raines office showed no signs of a struggle. Dr. Raines is the C.E.O. and head researcher here at VSA. He started out teaching courses and the Acme Technical Institute where me and Vivian both met him. He decided to leave his career as an instructor and pursue his passion for identifying, treating, and reversing major vision defects. There was no doubt in my mind that he could help heal the damage done to Vivian's eyes by the meteor strike. He was successful but…Vivian disappeared…or so I thought. As we searched through Dr. Raines office for any clues, we came across several files and photos that showed Dr. Raines and Vivian working side-by-side on possible blindness reversal procedures. At first I thought that maybe these were documents referring to her studies with Dr. Raines before the meteor. That wasn't the case after all since the documents clearly point to Dr. Raines' head executive office here and the few photos revealed Vivian's prosthetic right arm. All this did help to lessen the likelihood in the other Loonatics' minds that Vivian could be involved in Dr. Raines abduction. Still since there's no sign of her here and those shadowmen…I just don't know what to think at this point. Seemingly sensing this, Ace took the others out to make a search of the perimeter to give me some time here to sit, think, reminisce, etc. As I sit at Dr. Raines' desk and stare down at an open notebook with probably the latest picture anyone has seen of her, I'm taking off guard by a little memory card that lands on the notebook under my nose and the "Hey baby" that followed. I turned to see here, right their in the flesh. She still looked as gorgeous as ever to me, even with the prosthetic arm. I couldn't really notice that. All I noticed was her black, shoulder length hair, her mocha skin and her beautiful brown eyes, no longer clouded over.

"Vivian," I stuttered as I try to speak. "Is it really you? What's going on here? You don't have anything to do with Dr. Raines disappearance do you? Surely you couldn't? I know you better than that."

"Relax honey, it's me and of course I have nothing to do with this. I'm afraid I might know who is responsible though."

"Well tell me then Vivian! Who is responsible for all this?"

"I don't want to get into that until I'm absolutely sure. I sure hope I'm wrong but…you deserve answers Cobalt, especially since you still believe I'm innocent despite the mounting circumstantial evidence. Take that memory card and view the contents. It will shed a light on a dark part of my history that must be considered. In learning more about the past events that helped shape my life, you should be able to solve this mystery. That's just assuming my hunch is right but I have a feeling it is. You can follow up on this lead if you think it is truly the right one. Now I must go Cobalt. You're team will be returning here shortly. I think it's best that our paths' not cross just yet. Goodbye for now Cobalt. I'll be thinking of you."

She blew me kiss and left before I could muster much of a response. I didn't even hear loudmouth Rev enter.

"Come on Cobalt we have to go now. Not much else we can do down here. You, Tech, Rip, and me can process what little evidence we gathered here and…hey what are you looking at?"

I snapped out of my little stupor and turned away from I saw her depart. "Nothing Rev…I'm just not feeling too good right now. I guess this took more out of me than I thought it would. I didn't even get to karate-chop anything or anyone."

"Well if it would make you feel a little better I could let you do some karate moves on me but just watch the legs cause I use them a lot and watch my torso as I'm exceptionally ticklish and watch my head…"

"Relax Rev," I interrupted. "You don't have to be my personal punching bag. I'm just really worn out Rev. I'm afraid I might need to go straight to bed when we get back to HQ. You, Tech, and Rip will have to take care of the evidence processing for the night. I'm real sorry…"

"Hey don't be buddy. We understand that you would help us if you could but you shouldn't right now because you need to get some rest I mean we wouldn't want to unwittingly shorten your lifespan more than it already has been…oh man that was so insensitive of me and I…"

"Rev," I said with a slight chuckle. "Just relax bud. Now let's go home.

* * *

I enter my sleeping quarters back at HQ with more exhaustion than I thought one person could feel. I should expect this with the cancer but…it's still a bit much to take in. I also have a thousand thoughts running through my head. You know, I really like this room. Sure it's about the same size as my apartment back at Acmetropolis but you have to understand that apartment was where I ate, slept, lounged, lived, etc. At least I only sleep/lounge in this room. I do have my own little bathroom adjoining this room so it's all good. The bed is much more comfortable. I'm very comfortable right now. My sleepwear would be considered a little racy compared to the conservative manner of the other Loonatics' sleepwear. I don't wear a shirt…just a pair of flannel pants with a red and (of course) cobalt blue checkered pattern over a pair of (of course) silver silk boxers. I withdraw my feet from my (of course) cobalt blue, size 9 medium slippers and sit cross-legged on top of my soft bed. I feel I must reiterate at this point that yes…I'm the older brother, not Tech. I may be shorter, have smaller feet, and even a shorter tail but I am one year older than Tech. Tech just happened to get the long and lanky genes swimming around on mom's side of the gene pool. I got the short and stocky genes from my dad's side of the family. As I sit here atop my warm, comfy bed, I can't help but think how good sleep would be right now. I also know that if I don't view this file Vivian gave me back at Dr. Raines office, I won't be able to get to sleep. So I take the small palm-sized computer from the nightstand and place the memory card in its appropriate slot on the device. The file on the card was simply an audio recording made by Vivian herself. Most folks don't sound too good on recordings; I'm no exception to this. I swear though, her voice seems sexier somehow in this digital recording. I never really realized what an eloquent speaker she was. As she tells me of a particular even in her past, I can actually picture the scene in my mind as if I am there witnessing it as it unfolds.

* * *

"Excuse me Ms. Summers," a slightly younger Dr. Joel Raines said as he approached the slightly younger Vivian Summers, by far becoming one of his best students. "Could you do me a huge favor?"

"Oh hey Dr. Raines," she replies. "I don't see why I couldn't. My next class doesn't start for another half-hour. What is it you need sir?"

"I would like you to talk to someone for me if it's not too much trouble. It's my TA (teacher's assistant) Harold Sykes…I'm concerned about his behavior as of late."

"What do you mean Dr. Raines? I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary with him. Then again he's a mysterious character that boy is. Half the time I'm not sure what he's thinking about."

"That's what concerns Ms. Summers. He's been so withdrawn. I've gotten complaints from other students that he appears to be getting aggressive. I have some suspicions as to why he's behaving this way…one involves you as a matter of fact."

"Me...Why would he be acting this way because of me? I've never done anything to him. I've never said anything disrespectful…"

"I think he feels threatened by you," Dr. Raines interrupted. "You've shown such potential in the science of vision correction and restoration…much more than he did his freshman year. As silly as it sounds, he might be afraid that you're taking away his title as my favorite student."

"But…that's ridiculous Dr. Raines. That and very childish of him if it's true. So…you would like me to find out what is bothering him?"

"You've always had a gift for figuring people out. If anyone can find out what's going on with him, it's you. Just talk to him…perhaps he'll open up to you. You can find him in my lab. He said he had something important he wanted to check on in their."

"I'll go their right now. I just hope whatever's going on with him isn't something serious."

"I hope that's the case as well. Thanks Ms. Summers. I feel a lot better now knowing you'll get to the bottom of this."

"Anytime Dr. Raines…anytime."

* * *

I paused the recording and took some time to absorb all the information I was given. The name Harold Sykes rings a bell. I never met him in person though. This was obviously just before Vivian and I began dating. It seems I recall Harold being involved in some kind of lab accident. It was in Dr. Raines lab come to think of it. I never heard what became of Harold. Some say he died from the accident while others claimed he simply vanished. Acme Tech was real hush-hush over the whole thing so I never knew the full details. I wander now…did Vivian witness the accident? Time to return to the recording and find out more.

* * *

Vivian entered Dr. Raines lab a little concerned by the fact the lights were off. Thanks to the faint afternoon sunlight, she noticed that the main power breaker was shut off. She thought about turning back on then and their but she didn't want to surprise Harold. Whatever he was up to couldn't be good so she wanted to approach the situation calmly. She saw the long and lanky student messing with the light wave eliminator, a device that Dr. Raines and his team accidently stumbled on when searching for safe methods to simulate blindness. Though its darkening effects were supposedly just temporary, Dr. Raines feared his creation and wanted it destroyed. Too bad for him that Acme Tech already acquired the rights to the device. It wasn't going to be destroyed anytime soon…unless that's what Harold is doing now.

"Harold!" Vivian exclaimed. "What in the world are you doing? Get away from that machine. It could conceivably cast a shroud of darkness over the entire city."

He just looked up at her with cold, aqua eyes that seemed to look through her. He brushed his shaggy light brown hair from his forehead and stood.

"Vivian…I'm so glad you could join me. I'm just about to find out if this could really plunge this city into total darkness. Wouldn't that be something Vivian? Just imagine the chaos…the panic. I can almost hear the screaming…can't you?!"

"Why would you want to bring about such panic Harold? What possible motive could you have for wanting that?!"

"The so-called people of this city are so blind yet they don't even on it. They take for granted all they've been blessed with and turn a blind eye to true suffering. Why would you or Dr. Raines ever want to help people like them? They will never learn until they've lost it all…till they embrace the horrible darkness of the cruelty and hatred that still exists in this world, even here in the 28th century. I will show them the error of their ways. It's my destiny to pass judgment on this city…on this world. No longer will there evil deeds be hidden in the dark for all will be trapped in the dark, praying that the light would shine on their misdeeds if only to relieve them of the curse.

"You're insane Harold," Vivian gasped as she continued to back slowly to the main breaker. "The whole world is not one big mass of evil. Oh sure…there are some folks who need to have their dark deeds exposed in the light. Just like you do," she said as she threw the main breaker back in the on position.

What happened next sent her scrambling for cover. The sudden influx of power to the partially opened light wave eliminator caused a violent explosion that covered the entire half of the lab that the opened portion of the machine faced…in total darkness. The site was unbelievable. The darkness was quickly banished with a bright spotlight that was brought in by Dr. Raines. After making sure Vivian was alright, the two of them went over to the machine to survey the damage. They saw no sign of Harold anywhere. What seemed to concern Dr. Raines just as much as Harold missing was the fact that something else was missing.

"Oh my…the Black Diamond Crystal Engine (BDCE) is gone. That engine is the key component of the light wave eliminator. It by itself could be used to bring some very dark days for Acmetropolis."

* * *

Well talk about a cliffhanger. The recording ended with the mention of this BDCE thingy. What became of it and what became of Harold Sykes? Did he somehow survive that explosion and in the subsequent confusion managed to steal it? Also…how did Vivian, as Black Velvet, use the light wave eliminator if its key component was missing? At least she left me with a clue at the very end of the recording. She felt confident at some point that we would be dispatched to Acme Tech. She was going to leave another memory card for me to find there, in one of our favorite little places we liked to get away to when we wanted some alone time. I have a feeling we'll be responding to yet another theft of the device. Well her recording does give me a plausible suspect now for the kidnapping of Dr. Raines. Seems that Harold is still alive and she knows this to be true. For how long she knew, that's hard to say. Hopefully the next recording sheds some light on that. Just as I finished these thoughts, there was a knock at the door and the one Loonatic I leased expected to come visit me this evening stuck his head in the door.

"Hey Cobalt," Duck said a little nervous. "May I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Sure Duck…come on in," I reply. "I promise I won't bite…hard," I have a good laugh after I say this. "Seriously Duck…I'm glad you dropped by. I want to apologize for what I did earlier…"

He took me by surprise when he raised his had to interrupt me and said "look Cobalt…you don't need to apologize. I'm the one that needs to apologize. I was way out of line."

"Uh…Duck. My short-term memory may not be the best in the world but I'm fairly certain that I'm the one that just about killed you."

"I really wouldn't blame you if you did. Don't think you really would have but at any rate…I'm sorry for pushing you a little too far. I really want to try and be friends. I also don't want to stay on your bad side with a temper like that…sheesh!

"You're ok Duck," I manage to say through my laughter. "Don't ever change."

"Don't plan to. They broke the mold when they made this duck. Goodnight Cobalt."

"Good night Duck and you're forgiven. See you in the morning."

* * *

_**Author's note: Yeah…as you can see I decided to forgo the usually short intro I usually do and try just jumping right into this one. I hope it captures a lot of reader's attention right out of the gate. This was fun to put together. Already got the next chapter in the works. Doubt it'll be as long as the first one but…then again I thought this was not gonna be that long of a chapter. Please let me know what you think of this first chapter. I look forward to any input y'all as readers might have. Take care.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Embrace the Darkness

Well even after listening to Vivian's recorded message, sleep did not come too easily. In fact, I grew more restless. I ended up in the lab, the place where my brother Tech and his friend Rev spent most of their time creating or improving our various crime-fighting gadgets. Rip spends a lot of time here as well developing new encryption as well as decryption programs. I now had my own little quadrant of the lab. My focus is biotechnology and that's what my section of the lab is centered around. The bulk of my contribution to the team centered on life-support and physiological enhancements, such as the use of electro-stimulation for more efficient combat moves. Even though it is possible in this century, I still shy away from direct genetic modification. It's a moral issue with me. I just don't believe it's right to alter ones' genetic makeup except for extreme cases like severe birth defects. It's funny that, despite my reservations against genetic manipulation, I'm spending this time in the wee early morning hours researching that very topic. I would say that we're three hours or so from sunrise, but that only applies to Acmetropolis time. On planet Blanc, there's near perpetual daylight and so we have special shutters installed to block out the light to simulate night. It sure does make it seem more like the old Loonatics HQ back on Acmetropolis. Anyway, back to the topic of genetic modification. I wasn't looking into it for my own benefit, as a possible cure for my cancer. No…it was something else that had concerned me for some time. I had hoped not to disturb anyone with my early morning research but Rip showed up not long after I began. And I thought my flannel pants only sleepwear was racy. Rip had a shirt, a plain white tank-top to be exact, but he just had on a pair of black and red checkered cotton boxers. He didn't have on any slippers like I did. He held in his had a glass of milk. This told me that he most likely was up because he couldn't sleep either. Before he could ask me why I was in front of a computer screen at about three in the morning, I couldn't resist the urge to ask him a question.

"Hey Rip. What…no red night cap like your brother Rev?"

"What are you kidding me?! I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that dorky thing. Seriously…does anyone even wear those anymore…besides him. Didn't they go out of style somewhere around the mid-20th century?"

"I'm no fashion guru but I think they did make some kind of comeback in the late 24th century but I don't think that lasted very long."

"Whatever…let's just drop it. It's way to early in the morning to be discussing fashion. Besides, the knowledge you and I have combined on the subject is so small, it could probably cover an area occupied by a single bit of digital data," he said laughing at his cleaver analogy.

I must admit it was a pretty good one. Couldn't help but smile after hearing it.

"So what exactly are you doing in here Cobalt? It's usually your brother Tech that does this kinda thing."

"Yeah…I…I just have a lot on my mind and I couldn't sleep."

"Yep…sounds like his usual answer."

"Ok smart guy…so why are you up at this hour?"

"I blame the lack of nutritional intake I had yesterday. I mean the only big meal we had was breakfast, even though it was a late one. We had some sandwiches after getting back from the VSA (Vision Specialists of Acmetropolis) building and then I spent the rest of the day and well into the night helping Tech and Rev sort through the evidence we gathered there."

"Did you find anything of any use to us?"

"There wasn't much physical evidence to go to help identify Dr. Raines' kidnapper. I did manage to pull some information off his computer. It turns out he along with your old flame Vivian has made some great strides in vision restoration technologies."

"Just as I thought…she's working closely with him to help those deprived of the gift of sight. There's no way she could be involved in his disappearance."

"Well Cobalt…there is some mention about her growing a little distance about a week ago. He knew something was bothering her but she never opened up to him about it. He says in one transcript that he overheard Vivian talking something about dark matter."

"Dark matter…what's that supposed to mean? Could that be a code or something?"

"I'm not real sure Cobalt. It appears that it is used as a moniker…a name to put it in laymen's terms. I say that because Dr. Raines mentions in one document his suspicions that a former student and protégé of his, who he and many others thought was dead, was actually alive and going by Dark Matter."

"So we could be dealing with a new villain here but with similar powers and abilities that Vivian had as Black Velvet."

While Rip continues to go over the remaining digital evidence, I've put two and two together and I already know that the student he referred to could only be Harold Sykes. Even though I already knew the answer, I asked the question anyway. I'm not ready to share with the rest of the team the recording Vivian gave me; not while there still exists a level of mistrust toward her by the others.

"So…who is this student that he suspected of being this Dark Matter character?" I asked after Rip finished his assessment. Man I wish I had even a quarter of the memory capacity this guy has.

"Oh right…sorry…I meant to tell ya that but I got a little carried away presenting the rest of the findings but I should've given his name then while on that topic…"

"Whoa…whoa…simmer down Rip. You're beginning to sound like your brother."

"Oh man you're right. I better get some sleep before my brain gets even further scrambled. Anyway…the name of the student in question was one Harold Sykes. Not much details giving about him. Look Cobalt…it's been nice chatting with ya but I think we really need to try and get some more sleep. Lack of sleep can't be good for your condition. If you have anymore questions, we can discuss it over breakfast. We'll find Dr. Raines…don't worry."

"You're right Rip. Thanks for filling me in on the latest information. See you at breakfast Rip."

"Same to you Cobalt"

As we part company and I head back to my room, I can't help but add under my breath 'we're definitely gonna need all the rest we can get'. I have a feeling we'll be visiting me and Tech's ole alma mater Acme Tech sometime in the near future. I have a feeling I know what particular theft we'll be responding to.

* * *

Well despite my 3:00 a.m. research session, I actually woke up moderately refreshed. It helped that not everyone had woken up till about 11:00 a.m. I'm starting to wander if they had always slept in this late or…if they were all still trying to get use to being on Planet Blanc. Most of the others are already lounging around the dining area when I walk in. Slam is in the kitchen about to prepare breakfast…or more appropriately brunch at this point. I decide to lend him a hand since do have some culinary talent. I show him a recipe for a breakfast casserole that Cassandra made for me at times. She helped teach me the best way to prepare it and I caught on pretty fast. She's always been an excellent teacher. As for Slam…the big guy is totally awesome in the kitchen. He sure taught me a thing or two about preparing a meal for a group of folks. Yeah…his verbal communications skills may not be the best in the world but that doesn't keep him from being a helpful instructor. Tech and the others have learned to understand him well enough to get by, even Rip. If I spend enough time with him in the kitchen, I might be able to as well. Perhaps Duck could give me some pointers since he seems to be the one who best understands Slam. I wander how that is since Duck seems to be one of those guys who's so self-absorbed with themselves that they don't bother to even listen to others…let alone understand them. Once the meal is ready, I go to the table with the others while Slam follows behind with the delicious amalgamation of eggs, bacon, sausage, chili peppers, and melted cheddar that is the breakfast casserole. It brought tears to my eyes as I thought back to the time Cassandra would make it. I miss her so. I don't see Tech and I start to think he hasn't woken up yet. Then I hear his protests as he's physically dragged from the lab and into the dining area by the Runner brothers.

"Fine…fine…I'll sit and eat only because…it smells so…heavenly. Wow! This must be that Cassandra's breakfast casserole that you always bragged about Cobalt," he said with his mouth beginning to water from the pleasant aroma.

"Why yes it is Tech. I gave Slam the recipe and helped him prepare it. And Slam…Cassandra would be proud of your work. Heck…the several generations of her family that passed down that recipe would approve."

"(unintelligible Slam speak)…taste," he spoke while blushing from my rave review.

"He's right you know," Duck added. "You haven't even tasted it yet before giving that glowing review."

"O come on Duck," Rip chimed in. "How could anything that smells that good not taste as good as well?"

"There's only one way to find out…let's dig in," Lexi added enthusiastically.

Well…as momma always said. You know the food is good when everyone just shuts-up and eats. I'm pleased to say that it tasted just as good as I remembered. Also the caffeine from the coffee has gone a long way to help wake me up. Unfortunately it also helped Rev get up to full speed.

"So Tech…what were you working on back their in the lab?" I asked my younger brother.

"Well you see Cobalt, Tech had always wanted to find away to make our constant wormhole travels a little smoother since the internal vibrations that they cause can lead to some severe nausea in isolated cases as illustrated by frequently by Rip thanks to his motion sickness issues but now Tech thinks he's come a cross a way to virtual eliminate the vibrations via a countervibrational mechanism which he just had a breakthrough for right before me and Rip dragged him here to get the much needed nutrition…(breathes)….he so greatly needs."

Poor Rev. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under right now. He just received a blank stare from me as I couldn't really understand him. All the others besides Rip and Tech showed blank looks too. Rip just looked annoyed and Tech…Tech had a very angry scowl on his face.

"You know Rev…I can speak for myself," Tech said almost yelling.

"Ooops…sorry guys and especially you Tech. I couldn't help it…I get so carried away sometimes."

"Sometimes!?" Rip grumbled.

"Hey no problem Rev," I reply though I'm still trying to internalize all he just said. Something about wormhole vibration corrections or something. "You can fill me in on all the details a little later. Hey Ace," I said as I turned to face our team leader. "I haven't heard much from you yet. I take it you're not as much a morning person as Rev here."

"Eh…something like that. I'm just trying to piece together this whole situation. I can't shake the feeling that Dr. Raines' kidnapping is part of something much bigger. I've been going over the data that Rip uploaded to my wrist computer and…(sighs) I was so hoping we'd seen the last of the supervillians…at least in Acmetropolis. Unfortunately we might be dealing with a new one. As much as I know you hate to hear it, your old flame Vivian a.k.a. Black Velvet is connected somehow. It's possible she's not involved in anyway with this current crime but…something links her with this Dark Matter character."

"I don't deny that Ace. You'd have to be a fool not to see that there's something similar about these two. _If only you knew just how connected they were,_" I thought to myself as I began to grasp the reality that Vivian was directly responsible for Harold Sykes transformation to Dark Matter. At this point I'm more than 100% convinced that Harold and Dark Matter are one in the same. I won't let all this be known just yet. Knowing the possible details of Dark Matter's origin want make finding him and Dr. Raines any easier.

"By the way Cobalt," Tech said, breaking my current train of thought. "You left your computer on in the lab. I hope you were not up late researching something. A lack of adequate sleep is not going to help that cancer of yours much."

"I know Tech…sheesh…I'm the older brother. I'm the one that should be the one making sure you behave."

"Well I don't have as much need for sleep as everyone else thanks to my regenerative abilities. Oh and I hope you weren't planning on using genetic modification techniques to try and beat your cancer. We've already established that they can't be used with aggressive cancers like pancreatic cancer."

"Hehe…guess I left that last site up too," I chuckle nervously. "No Tech…it wasn't for my benefit. I was just wandering if…maybe I could get an idea for the possible genetic mutations behind Drake and Paula's criminal insanity. They had changed so drastically in their behaviors after the meteor strike. It must have triggered some kind of mutation. Maybe if I can isolate it…I…"

"Cobalt…I know you won't to do everything you can to help your old friends but this…genetic modification stuff is still not practical. They may be some success in remote cases but for the most part, the overall success rate is less than 40%. You stand a better chance of just causing more harm to them."

"The same thing could be said for your precious oh velvety one too," Duck added.

"Duck!" Lexi yelled smacking him on the back of the head.

"What!? I'm just stating an obvious fact."

"I'd agree with you Duck," Tech added. "Except Vivian's old powers were not brought on by genetic mutation."

"And you know this how exactly Tech?" Ace asked puzzled.

"It's simple…before her shadow curse completely took over my mind, I was able to identify the energy signature on it. It wasn't biological in nature. It was definitely an external energy source that was powering that shadow curse of hers. It may seem strange but…the energy seemed to be coming from…her cloak."

"So that would explain why she was able to regain her memory of me as well as of events in her past once the cloak was gone. It's as if it had its own shadow curse over her," I added feeling relieve by the news that she was permanently altered by the meteor radiation."

"That's a strong possibility if all this is true," Ace added . "Hey Tech…why didn't you mention this earlier? That whole Black Velvet ordeal was about two years ago."

"Guess it just slipped my mind chief. Didn't seem like too relevant a fact till now."

"Well it's the best news I could have gotten bro," I add. There's still a lot of questions to be answered. I say we go back to Acmetropolis, specifically to Acme Tech. I think we're all pretty sure what this Dark Matter guy's next move will be."

As if on cue, Ace's wrist computer sprang to life.

"Well if that don't beat all," Ace said as he glanced over the news. "It appears that Acme Tech has been put on high alert. It says a credible threat exist against Acme Technical Institute property sometime this evening. Someone calling himself Dark Matter claims to have developed a method to utilize the BDCE (Black Diamond Crystal Engine) from the Light Wave Eliminator to blanket the entire planet in complete and permanent darkness. Why in the world would this guy announce his theft? It's like he wants to draw someone out in the open…maybe us."

"Maybe," I added then I said under my breath "or maybe Vivian."

"This is big guys," Ace added with some urgency in his voice. "We're facing another supervillian that, except the fact that his powers are a lot like Black Velvets', we don't know much about. I think all of us need to do some extensive training in Tech's holographic training room. We'll follow that up with some dinner and then head down to Acme Tech. If Dark Matter wants us to come out and play, we'll be more than happy to."

"Alright!" Duck exclaimed. "Yet another chance at a new high score."

"Duck it's not a…oh never mind," Tech sighed, conceding to Duck's ego. At least this way Duck got the most out of his training.

"You all can get started on the training without me," Tech said dashing for his lab. "It's time to make my new babies…the self-regulating wormhole stabilizers…ready for their debut.

* * *

Well that training session was something else. I don't believe I've ever trained that hard before a big basherball game. At least dinner was big and very filling. Man that Slam can make veal parmesan that'll knock your socks out…providing of course you're wearing any in the first place. We arrived at Acme Tech around 5:00 p.m., just as the sun began to set over Acmetropolis. We've been given permission to scout out the campus for potential places that Dark Matter will make his entrance. It still feels all wrong to me. The whole situation just screams trap. Why else would any self-respecting villain make known the exact date and time of his plans. Well…there's arrogance but still…I don't like this and Rip senses this from me very quickly. We teamed up to scout out the east wing of the main floor, where the labs were.

"I take it you're just as uncomfortable with this whole thing as I am," he said matter-of-factly.

"You could say that," I added, confirming his suspicions.

"You know…there's something I wanted to tell you last night that I forgot to do. I was reminded when you were talking about your old friends this morning. I just wanted to say that I think it's very noble how you still care for them despite what they've become. That sense of loyalty you have is so refreshing and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate that about you. You're a great guy Cobalt."

"Well now I wouldn't admit to all that," I said blushing a little. "It's just that…they were there for me during some tough times and I just want to be sure that I can be there for them when possible, nothing too earth-shattering about that really. Hey Rip," I said, changing the subject. "Do me a favor and continue scouting this hall without me. There's an old utility room right here that I'd like to check out. Could be a possible covert entry point plus it's also a special place to me. Please indulge me while I take some time to reminisce."

"Oh why the heck not…I'm a little confused about what would be so special about a utility room unless that's where you…oh I get it, you and Vivian spent some…private time in that room back when you two were dating. That's a classic man. Take your time and get lost in the past as long as you'd like. Just don't get too lost. We've got to be ready when Dark Matter arrives on the scene."

I nod in appreciation and understanding and head off to the utility room. As she had promised, Vivian had left me another recording. I'm glad to see she remembered the times we spent in here…to ourselves. I'm once again swept away by her voice as she tells me in her words about the night she lost her site.

* * *

A young, black couple is seen running along the pedestrian walk that overlooks the bay. Their destination is the convention center and both stop to catch their breath once they reach their destination. The man is an intimidating-ly muscular guy standing about a full foot taller than the young lady, Ms. Vivian Summers. His name is Luther Fitzgerald, but she simply calls him Massive.

"Well so much for that short cut Massive baby," she teases. "We almost didn't get here in time."

"But we did get here in time. Now isn't that all that matters?"

"I guess but it sure took a work-out to haul tail over here. You have to forgive me sweetie but…I promised Cobalt I'd be here for his signing. We may not be an item anymore but he's still a good friend and I know it'd mean a lot to him if I was here for him."

"I'm still trying to process the fact that you actually dated a mangy coyote…"

"Hey now…don't be calling him mangy…"

"Sorry…sorry, I can't believe I let that slip. Look I'm not trying to put your friend down or anything. In fact I'm looking forward to meeting the guy…er…coyote that first captured your heart. It's just…I guess I'm letting my jealous boyfriend side come out."

"You have no need to be jealous honey. I have to admit…you are cute when you're all jealous like that."

"In you're so fine when you get all riled up."

Even thought the time is drawing near for the ceremony, Luther and Vivian are too busy holding on to each other and kissing passionately. She has her right arm draped around his back, his back facing the expanse of the bay as it sparkles in the sunlight. Vivian's attention is caught by the sound of what she first thinks to be an aircraft flying low. As she looks over Luther's left shoulder, her eyes go wide with fear as they focus on the meteor as it crashes down into the bay. Before either can react, they are enveloped by the intense light of the resulting fireball and for Vivian…all went dark.

* * *

So that's how it exactly happened. She was coming to see me on my big day. She didn't have to do that. She shouldn't have since now it led to…no…can't blame yourself Cobalt. Well at least she was happy up to the point of the meteor strike. It sounds like she found herself a good man. She called him Massive…where have I heard that befo…of course…Massive is the name of one of the super villains the Loonatics have had to deal with in the past. Could this be the same guy? If so, then it looks like yet another criminally insane villain was spawned after that darn meteor. So this guy Luther a.k.a. Massive possessed a great deal of muscle mass. That's probably what ended up saving both him and Vivian. It's amazing he survived if it is the same guy I'm thinking of. He took the brunt of the radiation and in the process spared Vivian of its incriminating effects. Still something helped drive Vivian to the brink of insanity back then. I have my suspicions it's Dark Matter. Hmmm…I wish she would've have left me a little more clues. She could've at least listed another drop zone for a new recording. Maybe I'm supposed to go directly to her for the final chapter of her story. I have a feeling I know where and when. Before I could finish the thought, Ace's frantic voice came through the radio alerting everyone to gather at the lobby. The shadowmen had arrived. Dark Matter could not be far behind.

"How many are we dealing with?" I yelled as I activated my night vision and joined the on-going struggle.

"Well for now I've picked up at least 20 with the help of my GPS capability but just as I get a fix on a few, (roundhouse kicked four shadowmen approaching him), more seem to pop up. It's getting hard to keep up with even for ME," he began screaming as he was overtaken by a group of six or so shadowmen.

I ran to Rev's aid and landed a few karate kicks on the unsuspecting shadow minions. Rip had also dashed to our aid. Ace and Lexi were handling themselves will. Ace has really mastered that guardian strike sword of his. Duck was having a blast annoying a few of the dark thugs with his constant quaking in and out. Tech used this distraction to pull down a railing from a set of catwalks above with his electromagnetic powers and tied them up securely. Just as it looked like we were getting the upper hand in this battle, who should show up but Dark Matter himself. He was completely dark as night with a matching black cloak. Tech pointed out how he looked just like Black Velvet did; only it was clear this wasn't Black Velvet when he started to speak.

"Well…well…well…what have we here? Why it's the famous Loonatics, the finest eight superheroes in the whole universe," he laughed mockingly. "Oh wait…actually it's just six superheroes and two super zeroes. Cobalt…older brother of Tech and former boyfriend of my good friend Ms. Vivian Summers, I've never got the chance to meet you in person till now. You may have some awesome karate skills and biotechnical savvy but you're no match for me without any powers. As for you Rip Runner, how cute of you to follow in your older brother Rev's footsteps. You may be super when it comes to numbers and digital security, but not where it counts I'm afraid. Still, it's those skills that make you the most sought-after…at least by me that is."

With his last sentence came a pulse of energy that disabled our night vision. Rev was in a panic as his internal GPS revealed that Dark Matter had just imprisoned Rip in a dark orb and that another one of those orbs was heading his way. I'm not quite sure how but I was able to focus my eyes well enough to make out the outline of the orb as it approached. There wasn't much time to think…so without thinking…I grabbed Rev and pushed him out of the way and then all went dark for me after that.

Once Dark Matter departed with his two prisoners, the emergency lights were restored and the other Loonatics began to look around in a complete daze.

"What in the…oh no…they're gone," said Ace as he gingerly got to his feet. "Rev run and see if the light wave eli…."

"The light wave eliminator is still present and accounted for except something has been removed from it most likely its BDCE or Black Diamond Crystal Engine. Also missing are Cobalt and OH NO RIP IS GONE TOO," he blurted out. "Ok…got to remember…let's see. I remember Dark Matter casting some kind of orb over Rip probably much like the time Black Velvet captured Tech in that orb…it's the same type of orb I'm sure. He had one with my name on it too but Cobalt…oh geez Ace what is going on here?"

"I'm not quite sure Rev," Ace admitted looking somewhat defeated.

"Oh man…I'm such a pee-brain," Tech whined. "It all makes perfect sense now that I think of it."

"Well care to enlighten the rest of us pee-brain," Duck added.

"It was Rip he was after the whole time. This was all a plan to get Rip and the BDCE."

"But why Rip?" Lexi asked. "What could he possibly need him for except…there must be some kind of security deal he needs to get past and he knows how quickly Rip can circumnavigate something like that."

"Right," Tech said as he thought the whole thing out in his head. "So his plan was to kidnap and possibly torture Rip for his assistance and if that wasn't going fast enough, he would torture his brother Rev to make him comply. The only thing is he didn't grab Rev…he ended up…grabbing Cobalt. Oh…no…he's going to…"

"That's what we have to assume," Ace said as he patted Tech's shoulder for comfort. "If Rip won't cooperate with Dark Matter then we have to assume he will torture Cobalt to make Rip comply. Of course, we have other plans. Don't worry Tech…Rev…we'll find them and will put a stop to whatever Dark Matter has planned. I just wish I knew whether or not time was on our side.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Well…this looks like as good a suspenseful place to end this chapter as any. What perils await Cobalt and Rip? What is it that Dark Matter wants with Rip and most importantly, with the BDCE? Is Vivian's last boyfriend before the meteor strike truly the Massive we all know as a supervillian? (y'all probably already know the answer to that one) please stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of "A Dark Matter." My apologies for posting this one so late in the day (at least by my time zone). I had just about forgotten that I was giving blood today so that was a slight delay. Oh well…better late than never. I hope this has been enjoyed by all up to this point.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Dr Raines I Presume

"No…please…not again…gahhhhhh," Rip screamed over what sounded like the buzz of high voltage electricity. At least I think it's Rip. It sounded like him. I was still in a fog at that particular moment. I was very certain of what the next voice was, even still being just semi-conscious.

"Again with the passing out!" exclaimed Dark Matter. "This bird can't take any torture for a long period of time. This is really trying my…oh well look who's starting to stir. Hey there Cobalt. I'm so glad to see you waking up. I'm not getting anywhere with your friend here. Unfortunately I've exhausted my supply of Smelling salts on him so I want be getting the information I seek anytime soon. Well at least I can use this time to get to know you better, find out your thresholds of pain, heck you might even let me in on what making love to Vivian was like. How I often fantasized about that. "

That last line of his really struck a nerve and I wanted so badly to leap at his throat and sink my teeth into his trachea. That wasn't gonna happen though as the bonds holding me spread-eagle to this table was very strong. My wrist and ankles were already sore despite the uniform. Rip is on a similar platform from what I can see by tilting my head to the right. The platforms were angled at about 50 degrees or so and they were obviously wired. Thanks to my cancer and the brutal treatments I've endured for it, I had a fairly high tolerance to pain. Like my brother Tech though, I couldn't stand having electricity surge through me. The idea of having no control whatsoever of you muscles, while conscious, was just so unnerving. It was obvious that this was not gonna be a fun little social.

"Boy…you're really one scary supervillain let me tell you," I responded smugly. "I mean here you've done captured the only two Loonatics with no superpowers whatsoever. "Ooohh…big, bad Dark Matter I…"

At that point he grasped my muzzle with such force that it felt as if he was gonna rip it clean off my face. He forced my face to look into his eyes as he spoke.

"You'd be wise to keep your smart snout shout you mangy mutt," he snarled while placing his thumb over my nostrils, cutting off my breathing. "You were not part of my plan you meddling fool. All I wanted to do was grab Rip and his brother Rev. Torture them to gain the access code to your Acmetropolis HQ as well as access its central computer. Rip would then decrypt a file I got off of Dr. Raines computer that would help me effectively use the BDCE to blanket the world in darkness, something my little puppet, your precious Vivian, failed to do."

I gasped for breath once he finished his little monologue and removed his thumb from my nostrils. While I was catching my breath, I looked around as best I could to get an idea as to where we were. It appeared to be some old maintenance room located nearby the subway lines, when there used to be subway lines here. Then, even in the dim light, it hits me. I've been in this room before. It has an entrance directly to the lower floor of HQ. This entrance was recently protected with an alphanumeric and color-coded keypad entry that was tough to break. I know…I helped Rip install it not too long ago on a maintenance trip back here and I also tested it. Rip got a good laugh from that while I discovered that I really didn't like thousands of volts of electricity coursing through me. Only Rip knew the code which I'm sure Dark Matter had figured out.

"So…she was innocent the whole time. You…you were controlling her…"

"Now…now Cobalt, don't think she was completely innocent in all that. It is true that I helped influence her through my shadow curse but…her mind was already cloudy enough so that it didn't take much effort on my part. I ended up actually giving her a share of my power so that she herself could use it…and she did…on your brother Tech remember. She was so bitter…bitter about losing her sight…bitter about losing her right arm…bitter about losing Luther…and bitter about losing you. Yes she was sure you were dead and gone and that everything she cared for was completely wiped-out. She even one-upped me by stealing all of my shadow curse power, that's how powerful who anger and grief made her. This is why I can't simply use the shadow curse to get Rip to do what I ask. It's also why I've been dormant for so long. I've been trying my best to regain that power but I never could. So now…"

"So now you're bitter and want revenge on everyone, especially Vivian for making you less of a supervillain and yada…yada…yada. I swear these lengthy monologues of yours are torture enough. Maybe you should take up a career in poli…YEOW!"

Before I could finish my taunt, he had grabbed hold of my left ear, violently stretching it upward. He then took a dull knife and started to hack off the tip of my ear. The pain was intense enough to bring tears to my eyes and I let out a sharp yelp and whimper. I managed to compose myself some to ask a question that had been weighing on my mind.

"Why…why do you need Rip to decrypt Dr. Raines' files? You…have Dr. Raines."

"Ahh but you see I really don't have the good doctor with me. I had planned to abduct him as well but he went missing before I could. I have a hunch that Vivian, with the remnants of her shadow powers, detected me and they both fled to who knows where before I could arrive at the VSA building. What is it with her and coyotes like you always meddling in people's plans? Oh…looks like your little buddy Rip is starting to wake up. Good morning sunshine (laughs maniacally). So glad you could join us in the land of the living once more. I got your friend Cobalt here all nice and conscious. Now…since you'd probably pass out at something as mundane as tickling, I'm not going to waste anymore time on you. Instead…I will torture Cobalt here for as long as it takes. You will help me before too long. I don't think you could stand to hear your friend suffer. You know…it's too bad you're not like your brother Tech," he muses as he looks in my direction. "Then I could zap you to ashes, watch you regenerate, and do it all again. As it stands right now, I have to be careful. I can't have you passing out."

"Cobalt…" Rip manages to say as he slightly turns his head to the left to view me.

"Look Rip, no matter how much I scream…no matter how much I beg…no matter how much I cry…you are not to help this maniac succeed. You have to put my well-being aside and consider the millions of innocent people who would be effected if this guy blacks out the world and causes mass panic."

"Oh goody," Dark Matter cackled. "I so love it when my victims get so defiant. Now my friends, the real fun can truly begin. I assure you it will be a scream." he closes, laughing sadistically.

* * *

The rest of the Loonatics were still back at Acme Tech, trying desperately to find some clues as to where Dark Matter was going with there two newest team members. Tech was still verbally beating himself up for not installing some sort of undetectable tracking device within the uniforms. The wrist computers were already disabled since he couldn't make contact with them, even on the emergency frequencies.

"Uh Tech," Ace spoke in order to break the tense silence. "I don't get why he needed to take two of us. If he has the same powers that Vivian did, then why not just take Rip only and put him under his control?"

As if on cue, Ace's wrist computer came to life with an incoming hologram message alert. He ordered all the other Loonatics to focus their projectors. This was a huge transmission coming in. They were all thinking that it might be Zadavia making one of her routine calls to check on everyone. They were thoroughly shocked when the holographic figure turned out not to be Zadavia but Dr. Joel Raines himself.

"Loonatics…thank heavens I finally got a hold of you," the tall, 50 year old white male said. He had black hair with a hint of gray beginning to creep in and his glasses framed a pair of stunning aqua eyes. "I suspect that you have quite a few questions for…"

"Where's my brother?! Is he alright?!" Tech and Rev both blurted out at the same time, not even giving Dr. Raines a chance to finish his statement.

"I wish that was a question I could answer. You see, I'm not in the clutches of Harold, or Dark Matter as he calls himself now, as you first suspected. I managed to avoid capture thanks to Ms. Vivian Summers."

"So the two of you fled from your office before Dark Matter showed up," Ace stated. "How did Vivian know that he was planning to snatch you?"

"Ever since Cobalt rescued her from the wreckage of her cloud city, the times she wasn't helping my in my research she spent tracking down and monitoring Dark Matter. It's a good thing she did. Not only did she save me from his clutches but the two of us have a pretty good idea about what he's up to."

"And what would that be exactly?" Lexi asked.

"Well I have a theory and it's just a theory mind you but this guy Dark Matter probably wants to do with Vivian failed to do and blanket the world in total darkness and…"

Rev was rudely interrupted by one of Tech's latest little gadgets that he had designed for just such an occasion as this. The object was like a little robotic spider designed to skitter its way around Rev's torso and back. As expected, the action started tickling the poor road runner senseless and left him rolling on the floor laughing his head off. '_That'll teach him to cut in front of one of my brilliant deductions again.' _Tech thought to himself.

"So Dark Matter took the B.D.C.E. from the light wave eliminator but he needs to run some kind of special stabilization software in order for the B.D.C.E. to work as a stand alone unit. That file he probably has but it needs to be decrypted. That's what he wants Rip for," Tech concluded and then shut down the Rev Runner Silencer Apparatus as he called it.

"That…was…so wrong Tech," Rev panted as Duck and Slam helped him back to his feet. "You just wait pal…karma is so…ho…ho…gonna kick you in the hind-quarters for that."

"Maybe…but for now, I'm just glad it worked," Tech smirked. He then turns back to the hologram of Dr. Raines and asks "so why not just use his shadow curse ability to get Rip to do what he wants? Why kidnap and torture another one of us?"

"It's quite simple baby," came the familiar, sultry voice of Vivian in the background. "Dark Matter would much rather torture his victims than use his powers to get them to do what he wants. He's sadistic like that. It also doesn't help that he doesn't have that particular power at his disposal anymore. I kinda stole it from him."

"Huh," Tech grunted. "And how did you manage to pull that one off hot stuff?"

"There's really not much time to go into the details. Perhaps I'll share that with you some other time in some other way. For now, I'll simply say that he let his guard and completely underestimated what I was capable of doing with what he gave me."

"What exactly does that mean?" Tech demanded.

"I'm sorry Loonatics but Vivian is right, said Dr. Raines, rejoining the conversation. You have to get to your HQ in Acmetropolis and fast. I believe it is there that he plans to use the B.D.C.E. That high tower would give him the most coverage. Please hurry. Who knows how bad off your colleagues Cobalt and Rip are right now?! Good luck Loonatics."

With that last statement he closed and the team immediately set out for their old HQ. While en route, they got the idea to enter HQ from the abandoned maintenance room just below the first level. It was fortunate that Rev remembered that Cobalt and Rip had installed a special lock on that door not too long ago.

* * *

The scene back in said maintenance room was not a pretty sight. Dark Matter had hit me with so much electricity that I swear I was breathing smoke. He had also cut off the tip of my right ear. He threatened Rip with the prospect of cutting off my fingers and my toes slowly and methodically if he didn't comply soon. As much as I hate to admit, I was at a point where I couldn't take much more of this.

"Please…don't do that. Rip…give him what he wants, "I pleaded turning my head to face my feathered friend. "No matter how hard we try…we want be able to convince this guy that the light will cure him. He'll have to learn that lesson the hard way," I said as I took a quick glance up at the bank of high-powered lights on the ceiling.

I couldn't have been more grateful for the fact that this room was being converted into a personal tanning sauna than now. To think me and Rip thought Duck had gone off the deep end with that crazy idea and that the others were equally nutty for supporting it. Now it might just be our saving grace. He was about to cut off the little finger of my right hand when Rip spoke up.

"Alright…I'll help you. Just stop hurting my friend."

"Ahhh…and I was starting to have some fun," Dark Matter complained. "Oh well…let's start with the door code. If that works, then I will unbind you and you'll help me set up the B.D.C.E. I wouldn't try anything funny at that point. I have a remote here that will activate Cobalt's restraints to painfully shock him with just enough voltage to make his death a slow and painful ordeal."

"Fine," Rip sighed. "The code to unlock the door is 1-6-4-9-blue-silver-red-yellow-pink-3-7-green-purple."

"Thank you Rip. Now…let's see if you've been straight with me."

Once Dark Matter entered the code, the powerful lights activated, bathing the room in intense visible light as well as with a little ultraviolet and infrared radiation, much like natural sunlight. Dark Matter screamed in pain as the bright light subdued him and began to chase away his shadow powers. Unfortunately, what Cobalt and Rip didn't count on was Dark Matter being able to activate both their restraints before his power drain completely knocked him out. Fortunately for them though, the other Loonatics had arrived as announced by Slam ripping the outer door of the room off its hinges.

"Good job Slam," Ace commented. "Loonatics…activate your shades. It looks like our little sauna room works."

"See…I told you it was a good idea," Duck quaked.

Oh no…there's Cobalt and Rip," cried Tech. "It looks like…they're being electrocuted. I have an idea. Rev…you and Slam get ready to get those things off their wrists and ankles. I'll handle the juice."

Tech then ran over to the torture tables and grabbed hold of the main electrical lines running to each table. He melted through the insulation with a concentrated dose of electromagnetic energy and made contact with the conductors. By doing this, he successfully shorted the power through him and into the ground, making the restraints safe for Rev and Slam to remove. Slam then took his now freed and unconscious pals over his shoulders, entered the proper unlock code for the door leading up to HQ, and took them up to the main living area. Duck noticed Dark Matter unconscious as well on the floor. He managed to quake him up to the main living area where it was quickly observed that he no longer had the black cloak or the all-black look. Tech's actions finally overtaxed the power system and the entire room went back to its prior darkness, the only light being the faint green glow of Tech regenerating his ashes. Harold Sykes was passed off to the police for swift while I and Rip's health was checked. I was considerably worse off considering all the torture was focused on me. The doctors were surprised that I survived the whole ordeal considering my worsening pancreatic cancer. All in all, aside from the tips of my ears being no more, I was well enough to leave the hospital the next morning. After all that has gone on down here in Acmetropolis, I was welcoming the prospect of returning to Planet Blanc. There are still some loose ends to tie up though and there are still questions I have for Vivian. For now though, I'm satisfied with just resting.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Yeah…I know I said that this would be the last chapter. Well…it's not. You see I had planned to make this a long final chapter just like the previous two chapters were longer than I usually write them. Well as is always the case, work gets in the way and I wouldn't be able to finish this before the end of the day. So…I decided to split this into a moderate-length chapter and I will follow it up next week with a brief epilogue. In the epilogue, Cobalt will meet with Vivian for what will be his last time seeing her in person. As I stated, he still has some questions that she will answer. This is an opportunity for you, my readers, to offer up any questions of your own, things you would like Cobalt to ask Vivian pertaining to her time after the meteor strike and before the destruction of her cloud city by the Loonatics. I have a good idea what I'm gonna have Cobalt ask her but I'm curious to see what, if you were Cobalt, would ask her. Just submit them with your review and I will see if I can work em in. It's not required but your participation would be appreciated. This has been fun to write and I hope enjoyable for y'all to read. I will answer one question that might be on everyone's minds. Regarding Tech…as Rev put it…karma is so…ho…ho gonna get him, trust me. Have a great weekend. Later.**_


	4. Chapter 4: You'll Be There, In The End

I may have said it before but…man it feels so good to be back here at HQ, even if it is away from my home planet. For now I'm just sitting here in the main living area with my new family, the Loonatics. Noticeably missing from our group presently is my brother Tech and his friend and lab assistant Rev. Everyone else is probably wandering where they are just like I am but right now we're busy listening to Zadavia. She has called to check in on things and Ace had just finished filling her in about the whole second cloaking ordeal with Dark Matter.

"I'm so glad you were able to put an end to Dark Matter's plans Loonatics. I just wish it didn't cause so much suffering for you Cobalt and for Rip as well."

"Ah no worries Zadavia," I countered.

"Yeah…it wasn't anything we couldn't handle," Rip added.

"You two were very brave. I've been impressed with how much an asset to this team you two have been despite not having any superpowers."

"Well…we can't take all the credit. The others have helped train us well to handle ourselves in any situation. Also my younger bro Tech has been a big help. Speaking of Tech…is anyone else just a little bit curious where he is right now? I wouldn't think he would want to miss out on speaking with you Zadavia."

"That goes for Rev too. I wander what they could be working on that would be more important than this."

What happened next could only be described as down-right comical. My bro Tech came stumbling in laughing himself senseless. Following not far behind him came Rev with a particularly smug look on his face. All of us, including Zadavia, were at a loss as to why my normally serious brother was now giggling like a little school girl.

"Eh…what's so funny there Tech?" Ace asked.

"…Rev…silencer…backfired. Won't….stop…tickling me…Rev…please…shut it off already."

"Yup…didn't I say that karma was so...ho…ho gonna get you pal? I said it would and it did which is pretty amazing considering half the time I say things like that, they don't end up happening and my words just amount to a load of wishful thinking and…"

"Rev….just…shut it off…before I wet…myself or something."

"Well gee Tech you know I would but wouldn't you know, clumsy me done broke the off button on the remote and the only thing I can do to make it stop is to enter its self-destruct sequence."

"But…but…fine…anything…the sequence is 3…7…9…2…star…4…7…pound. Enter it…hurry before I laugh myself…to death."

"Um…guys…we may want to shield our eyes as I suspect this will be a big blast. Let's get behind the couch. Zadavia…"

"I'm already taking the proper precautions," she said turning her head away so the bright flash would not hurt her eyes.

As usual Tech packed way more explosives than needed to destroy the little spider-like device. We all popped up from behind the couch in time to see Tech regenerate himself.

"(panting) Hey Zadavia. Nice seeing you again."

"You too Tech and you as well Rev. I was going to ask you two if you were keeping out of trouble but you've just answered that question. Cobalt…what is that you are humming? It sounds very interesting."

"What…oh…I'm sorry. I didn't really think I was humming out loud. It's nothing big, just a really old tune that helps lift my spirits some when I'm missing Cassie is all."

"It does sound interesting," Lexi offered.

"Sounds slow and depressing to me," Duck said.

"Duck!" everyone exclaimed.

"What…well it does? Geez…no one likes a critic."

"Don't get too upset with him guys. He's not that far off. It is a rather slow tune and some might find it a little depressing. It's the basis of the genre, at least what I've studied of it. It's a genre centuries old that's practically died away mainly due to repeated attempts to popularize it. It's been rendered unrecognizable as you might have guessed. Anyway the artist, George Strait, was a master of this lost genre from the late 20th to early 21st century. He must've been great considering some of his recordings are still around centuries later. The particular tune I'm humming is "You'll Be There."

"Eh…why don't you sing it for us Cobalt," Ace requested.

"Yeah…I've heard you sing before in the shower," Rip added. Sometimes you a bit off key, but it's far better than my brother's singing."

"Gee thanks," both me and Rev replied. I then thought about it and decided that I would. I was a little nervous about just how well it would sound without any music to back me up but…

_Hope is an anchor and love is a ship, time is the ocean and life is a trip  
You don't know where you're going, 'till you know where you're at  
And if you can't read the stars, well you better have a map  
A compass and a conscience, so you don't get lost at sea  
Or on some lonely island, where no one wants to be_

_From the beginning of creation, I think our maker had a plan  
For us to leave these shores and sail beyond the sand  
And let the good light guide us through the waves and the wind  
To the beaches in a world where we have never been  
And we'll climb up on a mountain, y'all we'll let our voices ring  
Those who've never tried it, they'll be the first to sing_

_Whoa, my, my  
I'll see you on the other side  
If I make it  
And it might be a long hard ride  
But I'm gonna take it  
Sometimes it seems that I don't have a prayer  
Let the weather take me anywhere  
But I know that I wanna go  
Where the streets are gold  
'Cause you'll be there  
Oh, my , my  
_

_You don't bring nothing with you here  
And you can't take nothing back  
I ain't never seen a hearse, with a luggage rack  
So I've torn my knees up prayin'  
Scarred my back from fallin' down  
Spent so much time flying high, till I'm face first in the ground  
So if you're up there watchin' me, would you talk to God and say,  
Tell Him I might need a hand to see you both someday_

_Whoa, my, my  
So I'll see you on the other side  
If I make it  
And it might be a long hard ride  
But I wanna take it  
Sometimes it seems that I don't have a prayer  
Let the weather take me anywhere  
But I know that I wanna go  
Where the streets are gold  
'Cause you'll be there  
Oh, my , my  
Cause you'll be there  
Oh, my ,my_

As usual I was on the verge of choking up toward the end of the song but I managed to hold it together. I couldn't say the same thing for my audience. Even Ace and Duck had tears rolling down their cheeks.

"That was…very nice Cobalt. Thanks for sharing. Now Loonatics, there was some serious business I wanted to discuss with you. It has to do with Black Velvet. I would like you to officially remove her from your supervillians database. From her recent actions, I don't think she deserves that designation. I'm afraid though that she still needs to answer for her earlier attempt at blanketing Acmetropolis in darkness."

"Zadavia…you can't be serious!" I exclaimed feeling a bit agitated. "That wasn't her fault. Dark Matter was behind that as well. She was under his…"

"Stop right there Cobalt," she commanded in a stern voice I've never heard her use in the short time I've known her. "I know this is hard for you to hear Cobalt but it has to be said. We can't be 100% sure that she was being totally controlled by Dark Matter. As far as all the visual evidence shows, she was in complete control of not only herself but an entire army of shadowmen. I'm not going to ask that you physical arrest her and turn her into the Acmetropolis authorities. At the least, she should be thoroughly debriefed in order to determine the extent of her involvement and from that, decide if the local authorities need to be notified."

"She's right doc," Ace replied sympathetically. It is our duty to make sure she pays for past crimes, despite what she's done recently."

"Yeah…she seems like a chick who can't be controlled by anyone," Duck replied. "Besides…she had enough control to steal Dark Matter's shadow curse ability.

"Yeah," Tech started in. "You have to remember Cobalt that I was captured by her and she used that curse on me to get me to do her bidding. It may not be the case now but back then, she had…"

"You know what, just stop right there Tech. I hear all your concerns and I understand why you hold them but…you don't know her like I do. I think it's time you did," I said as I threw down the voice transcripts Vivian had left for me and stormed out.

"Where are you going Cobalt," Zadavia commanded.

"You wanted her to be debriefed; well I'll do that for you. While I'm gone you can listen to those. Once you've done that then maybe you'll understand why she had her temporary moment of insanity."

* * *

I was half-expecting them to come after me but they gave me my space. I went by the VSA building where I found both Dr. Raines and Vivian had returned. Dr. Raines graciously gave me some time to talk to Vivian in private. She was obviously tense about relieving her dark past but she understood I had to ask. Before telling me about her time as Black Velvet, she admitted to me that she was concerned about what her future held. She was sure that she would still stay and help Dr. Raines but…time would tell. After she told me her story, I returned to HQ but not before sharing in what would be my final kiss with her. Back at HQ, based on the recordings I left and what I told them that Vivian said, they decided that no further action needed to be taken with her. I could still since some distrust from Duck and Tech. Maybe in time they will soften up. It's been a trying day for me and I'm so tired at the moment. It's time for me to go on and get some sleep. Just before sleep can come, I play the scene over and over in my head, the one that Vivian spoke to me about back at VSA earlier this evening. The time of her greatest vulnerability, just after the meteor strike. With her precious sight compromised and everyone she cared about possibly dead and gone, Dark Matter had no problem feeding on her grief.

* * *

"What's going on…where's Luther?!" Vivian exclaimed as she began to grope around a small room. She had been lying on what felt like a standard hospital bed. "Why are the lights off in here? Turn them on now."

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to have them on right now…at least…not in your current condition," a familiar voice said from just behind her. She knew at once that the figure behind her was Harold Sykes and she grew more fearful. She managed to suppress that added fear as she began to speak to him. "What have you done to me Harold? What's going on here? Oh God…where's my right arm?!" she exclaimed as she felt the metal cannon-like implement where her arm should have been.

"For starters Vivian, I saved your life. Don't you remember? There was a meteor strike in the bay. You took some serious thermal damage from that to your right arm."

"So that's what that was. What about Luther? Where is he?!"

"He took the full brunt of the energy from the impact. His sheer mass might help him survive but I'm skeptical. As for Cobalt, the young coyote you use to date; I can only assume that he perished as well as, for all intents and purposes, your sight as well."

"My sight…no…you can't be serious."

"Here…put these specs on. They will help you see even if only in shadows. Bright light would most likely do irreversible damage to your already scarred retinas. You also have cataracts on both eyes from the thermal radiation. Some might theorize that your condition is reversible but…I sure wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you."

"Oh I'm sure you're enjoying every minute of this Harold. The woman who ruined your plans three years ago now losing everything she holds dear, including her sight. I was gonna ask why you didn't just leave me to die but now I know why…you want to watch me suffer."

"I do have to admit that that was my original intention. Now though, I'm thinking that you might be a valuable asset to me. It is why I've passed some of my…special gifts…onto you Vivian. You see Vivian…the day you made the light wave eliminator practically blow up in my face, you changed me. No…not emotionally or spiritually or anything else abstract. I mean you physically changed me. I became a walking shadow, nothing but black except for my eyes. I even had this cool cloak that seemed to be a permanent part of me. With these things came powers, extremely useful powers. I can float through the air, I can create a legion of holographic shadowmen to go to battle for me, and a power I've deemed the shadow curse. With this shadow curse, I can reach into anyone's mind and turn them into my slave. I could demonstrate that one right now with you but…I'd rather have you as a willing ally than as a soulless zombie."

"And just why would I willingly side with you? Besides the fact you did save my life, you're still a sociopath in need of some serious…"

Before she could finish her tirade, Harold used a little of the shadow curse, just to put her in a more receptive frame of mind.

"Now Vivian, you will give into me sooner or later for…I am Dark Matter. I am the ultimate master of complete darkness. I can cloud anyone's mind, even one as bright as yours. You will forget your friends and your lovers and focus on the here and now. The reality of your current situation is that you're nothing. You no longer can stand in the bright sunlight of a warm, summer day. You are doomed to spend the rest of your pathetic life in the darkness with me. As for the people nearest and dear to you; Luther, Cobalt, Paula, Drake, and Dr. Raines; they are all dead and gone. They won't be here for you anymore. You must forget about them and focus on one thing, how to make the rest of the world suffer this injustice with you. Join me most powerful Black Velvet and help bring this dark matter onto the world."

* * *

From that point she couldn't remember much of anything till after her site was restored by Dr. Raines. She figured that she had fallen under Dark Matter's spell, letting her anger and grief shadow her past good deeds and giving rise to Black Velvet. At some point after that she figured that she became so powerful that Dark Matter was taken by surprise. He ended up fleeing from her and going into hiding but not before she completely stole his most significant power, the shadow curse. The rest of the powers he had freely giving her soon after he saved her life. The shadow curse he hadn't been prepared to bestow on her. So she took it from him. Still…this wasn't Vivian Summers, the young lady who thrived in the light, but Black Velvet, a blinded and scorn woman under partial control of Dark Matter. Yes it was her own dark desires to spread her suffering that helped to fully form Black Velvet but it was still Dark Matter that opened that door.

Well thanks to me and Dr. Raines, that door was permanently shut as far as I'm concerned. I wish she would have returned with me. She might have proven a valuable asset for us. She still needs some time though, I understand that. She has yet to completely reclaim herself as she once was. I tried to tell her that the chances of her completely regaining her past were miniscule but, this is Vivian I'm talking about. When she has her mind set on something, you can forget about it. I hope things work out for her. I can still feel her lips on mine as we shared that last tender moment together. I finally drift off to sleep with the vision of her lovely face etched in my mind. Goodnight wherever you may be my precious Black Velvet.

**The End**


End file.
